Creamy Cauliflower Soup with Caramelized Onions

Growing up in Vienna, it was a given to start our meal off with a bowl of soup before the main course. My Omi always made the best soups in the world and each time I make a soup, I think of her. Most of the everyday soups that she made were broth based, but she made the most delectable cream soups. She had a penchant for either adding rich cream, or roux and even adding some sherry or cognac to her cream based soups.

Photography by Heaven on Hearth

A steaming bowl of creamy velvety smooth soup warms your heart and soul, no matter what the weather. Now with a family of my own, I have continued with the tradition, just not as often and certainly not before each main course. I am also thrilled that my husband gets all fuzzy on me when he comes home to the aromas of a wonderful pot of soup.

This is a rich, creamy, velvety and satisfying non-dairy soup. The sweetness added by the bits of caramelized onions and the creamy texture of the blended cauliflower are married into a wonderful bowl of goodness.

6 cups of vegetable broth

1 large head of cauliflower or 7 cups of cauliflower florets

2 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped (1 large and 1 medium sized clove)

2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves

1 teaspoon salt

Caramelized Onions (see recipe)

Cauliflower Caramelizing

Start by caramelizing the onions. Once they are finished, remove the onions from the pot and add the cauliflower florets, using the left over oil in the pan to brown them for 3 minutes. Season with 1 teaspoon of salt and 2 cloves of roughly chopped garlic, tossing occasionally in the pot for another 5 minutes. The cauliflower will start caramelizing a bit and will also start softening a bit. Pour the vegetable broth in the pot and bring to a boil. Once brought to a boil, simmer for 10 minutes covered and 5 minutes uncovered.

Cauliflower on Vegetable Broth with Thyme Leaves

Once the soup has cooled use a hand immersion blender to blend the soup. Leave a few small florets in the soup for texture. Then add ½ of the caramelized onions to the soup, so you have bits of sweet, soft onions that you can bite into but leaving the rest for when you are ready to serve the steaming soup in bowls. Portion the balance of the caramelized onions evenly in four portions. Before serving each bowl of soup, add the final touch…the caramelized onions and a sprig of thyme just to please the eyes.

This serves for 4. Voilà. Enjoy a bowl of goodness!

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Chilled Creamy Asparagus Soup with Parsley Cream

When it’s hot outside, the last thing you want to do is eat hot food. Although asparagus is a spring vegetable, you can pretty much get it throughout the year. Asparagus has a distinct and unique taste. The freshness of the parsley, the tanginess of the sour cream really brings out a fresh flavor. I used green asparagus because the color would be more pleasing for a summer dish and the taste is more distinctive than white asparagus.

Photography by Robert Demetrius

You will need:

1 pound asparagus without the woodsy part

woodsy parts of asparagus

5 cups chicken stock

3 small red potatoes

1 large onion diced (2 cups)

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1½ teaspoons of salt

4 tablespoons olive oil

1½ ounces dry vermouth

Parsley Cream

Cutting Asparagus in 1 inch pieces

Cut the ends of the asparagus then break off the woodsy part. Just remember that we will need the woodsy parts to add to our stock, so do not throw them out, but you can dispose of the cut ends. In a pot bring the stock, woodsy parts of the asparagus and 1 teaspoon of salt to a boil over medium heat and then let simmer for 7 minutes then strain. Discard the woodsy parts and keep the stock in a container for later use.

While the stock is simmering away, dice a large onion to yield 2 cups. If you have smaller onions, just dice enough for 2 cups. Cut tips of 8 asparagus about 2 inches from the tip, we will need them for decoration. Cut the rest in 1 inch pieces. Peel and dice 3 small red potatoes. Chop 2 garlic cloves.

Once the pot has been emptied of the stock, place it back on the burner over medium heat. Heat 4 tablespoons of olive oil and sauté onions and potatoes for 5 minutes before deglazing with 1½ ounces dry vermouth. 

Sauteeing Onions and Potatoes

Continue to sauté for 3 more minutes before adding chopped garlic and sauté for another 2 minutes before adding the strained stock back to the pot. Bring the stock to a boil, which should take 4 minutes before adding asparagus, but not the 8 tips that we will be using as decoration and let it simmer for 6 minutes.

Stock and Vegetables Simmering

Using Immersion Blender to Puree the Soup

If you have an immersion blender, blend the ingredients until nice and creamy and let cool before placing in the fridge until chilled. If you don’t, wait until the soup has cooled and pour in the blender and liquefy. You will have a creamy velvety soup.

Just before serving the chilled soup, blanch the remaining 8 asparagus tips. Bring a pot of water to a boil and season with salt. Add the 8 asparagus tips for around 2 minutes and cool in a bowl with cold water and ice to stop the cooking process, because we want the tips to be nice and crunchy.

Ladle a cup of chilled soup in each bowl with and dollop of Parsley Cream and 2 asparagus tips.

This serves for 4 and yields 4 cups of soup. Voilà. Now go and have a cup of creamy chilled soup as one of your summer delights. How cool is that?

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